San Benito County moving forward with a new encampment clean up ordinance

HOLLISTER, Calif. (KION-TV)-The homeless crisis in San Benito County.

County leaders discussing multiple topics from the new encampment ordinance to the recent Point-in-time count to determine how many people are homeless.

That homeless population has gone up, too.

A report from the coalition of homeless service providers shows 264 more people are experiencing homelessness this year compared to when the last count was done in 2022.

Part of the reason is the lack of affordable housing.

The report saying people must make more than $50 an hour to met the living wage for a 2-bedroom apartment.

The county is moving forward with a new encampment clean up ordinance after meeting Tuesday..

They'll be back next month to talk more logistics.

San Benito County voted unanimously to implement a new encampment ordinance.

This will set aside $352,000 for clean up efforts and around $130,000 to fund a new position at the sheriff's office ahead of this ordinance's final approval.

"There's so many places that people camp and it's so difficult to access for our staff that once we get down there, we see that people have actually built structures," Sheriff Eric Taylor San Benito County said. "They've they've dug underground, there's underground structures, there's physical structures that need to be removed and there's a lot of vehicles down there and a lot of trash."

Sheriff Eric Taylor highlighting that the San Benito River is privately owned which raises concerns on how to enforce the cleanup while offering service for people.  

"The only way for us to enforce trespassing is to have somebody that has standing over that property tell us this person is not allowed to be here," Taylor said. "They've been asked to leave and they're refusing to leave."

The latest PIT count reveals a troubling trend that the homeless population has almost doubled in San Benito County.

 Concerns about staffing were brought up in the meeting, plus who would take the lead on enforcement.

"Funding is an issue for me, who is the lead agency and how we're going to go about it," Supervisor from the meeting Tuesday said. "But, it needs to be done with dignity compassion and equity."

"Health and Human Services estimated about 25% of our entire population of people experiencing homelessness in this county are in the river," Taylor said.

According to the report, future housing initiatives are on the horizon including Chappell Property where plans are in place to build two homes on 4.66 acres.

County leaders plan to present a more formal recommendation for approval by November 12th.